Police Continue To Arrest Reporters And Photojournalists At Occupy Encampments

Police continue to arrest reporters and photojournalists during military-style raids on Occupy encampments throughout the country, including arrests in Denver and Chapel Hill, North Carolina this weekend.

Josh Davis, a student journalist from the University of North Carolina, said he was standing on a public sidewalk outside an abandoned building that had been taken over by Occupy Chapel Hill activists Saturday when police in riot gear and “automatic rifles” came storming in.

The officer who cuffed me was nice enough. Realizing I was a member of the press, he made sure not to damage my camera or escort me straight to the public Chapel Hill Transit bus being used to transport those arrested.

For nearly half an hour, I sat handcuffed with Chapel Hill Herald Reporter Katelyn Ferral, while the Chapel Hill Police aimed their weapons—fingers on the trigger—from the rooftop to the ground.

“Count,” I thought to myself. About 30 officers—some in fatigues, others in riot helmets. What were the guns loaded with? Rubber bullets? Live ammunition?

He also tweeted about his experience after getting out of jail, mentioning an incident where a cop was not so nice.

Most of those arrested were outside the building. At least one camera thrown to ground. Fortunately not mine.

Davis filed a complaint against Chapel Hill police after he was released.

A photojournalist was among 20 people arrested at the Occupy Denver encampment Saturday night during another military-style raid, but details are scarce about that now.

One protester was arrested at 800 16th St. for defacing public property, and the arrests include a photojournalist who does not identify as part of the occupation.

As if that wasn’t unconstitutional enough, a judge forbade citizens attending Sunday’s arraignment from using recording devices or even from jotting down notes.

No attendees were allowed to bring cell phones or bags of any sort into the courtroom or to record any information during the arraignment. This meant that both reporters and the group’s internal legal team, who attend the arraignment to transcribe and triple-check arrestees’ legal information, were forbidden from taking any notes in the courtroom.

Police continue to arrest reporters and photojournalists during military-style raids on Occupy encampments throughout the country, including arrests in Denver and Chapel Hill, North Carolina this weekend.

Josh Davis, a student journalist from the University of North Carolina, said he was standing on a public sidewalk outside an abandoned building that had been taken over by Occupy Chapel Hill activists Saturday when police in riot gear and “automatic rifles” came storming in.

The officer who cuffed me was nice enough. Realizing I was a member of the press, he made sure not to damage my camera or escort me straight to the public Chapel Hill Transit bus being used to transport those arrested.

For nearly half an hour, I sat handcuffed with Chapel Hill Herald Reporter Katelyn Ferral, while the Chapel Hill Police aimed their weapons—fingers on the trigger—from the rooftop to the ground.

“Count,” I thought to myself. About 30 officers—some in fatigues, others in riot helmets. What were the guns loaded with? Rubber bullets? Live ammunition?

He also tweeted about his experience after getting out of jail, mentioning an incident where a cop was not so nice.

Most of those arrested were outside the building. At least one camera thrown to ground. Fortunately not mine.

Davis filed a complaint against Chapel Hill police after he was released.

A photojournalist was among 20 people arrested at the Occupy Denver encampment Saturday night during another military-style raid, but details are scarce about that now.

One protester was arrested at 800 16th St. for defacing public property, and the arrests include a photojournalist who does not identify as part of the occupation.

As if that wasn’t unconstitutional enough, a judge forbade citizens attending Sunday’s arraignment from using recording devices or even from jotting down notes.

No attendees were allowed to bring cell phones or bags of any sort into the courtroom or to record any information during the arraignment. This meant that both reporters and the group’s internal legal team, who attend the arraignment to transcribe and triple-check arrestees’ legal information, were forbidden from taking any notes in the courtroom.

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Ben KellerDecember 5, 2016

PhotographyisNotaCrime.com was founded as a one man blog in 2007 by Carlos Miller and grew into a full news website in 2014. We are listed in GoogleNews.com under the name PINAC News, and have over 100 contributors behind the scenes.